Alive before dawn
by RedWingNight
Summary: This takes place in current new 52 continuity. There are spoilers so I would recommend reading- Batman Endgame, Batgirl 35-40, Grayson 1-8, Nightwing 27-30. Barbara Gordon - Without Batman, Batgirl of Burnside has become the head hero of Gotham - sorta Dick Grayson - Ex-Robin turned Nightwing to Batman to Nightwing to recently deceased. Now Agent 37 of Spyral
1. Chapter 1

It seems like it's been at least 10 minutes since he came back. Relief and joy seemed to wash over her, _he's back, he's alive, he's safe._ She thought. _I mean he's sitting there smiling that trademark smile._

 _Wait, this can't be real._ _He's supposed to be dead._

The apparition of her best friend began to fade her heart started racing, as she started breathing heavily for a moment. "Dick!" she gasped. "Dick! Wait!"

"Babs it's okay, I'm here" He said calmly.

"Dick I'm sorry!" tears began roll down her face.

He placed his warm hand on her cheek, "Babs?" she was immediately pulled to those feelings she felt the last time they were together, the night before he would leave Gotham forever.

"Barbara!" jolted out of that nightmare. Heart still racing cheeks still moist but back in her bed. "Are you okay?" a concerned Frankie said at the edge of her bed. _Oh god Frankie_ she thought.

"What?" Barbara sniffed immediately turning her head to the opposite side of the bed. _Pull it together Babs it was just a dream._

"Are. You. Okay? I could hear you. You were practically screaming," The dark haired girl said.

"Jeez, Frankie, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I was just making a late night snack. You want some?"

"Ugh, sure." Barbara said as she did her best to wipe the last bit of moisture from face while climbing out of bed.

Their kitchen, along with the rest of their apartment, was quite nice considering the great deal they managed to get. At least being in Burnside was close enough away from Gotham to still be able to get back there whenever she wanted to check up on her father, the former-commissioner.

Frankie grabbed two bowls from the cabinet, the Greek yogurt from the fridge, and the granola from the cabinet and placed them at the table. The granola and Greek yogurt weren't already out on the table when they walked into the kitchen which was a dead give-away for Barbara to immediately tell what this really was.

"So… who's Dick?" Frankie said casually as she poured the granola into her bowl.

"Ugh!" Her head was much more comfortable on the cool tabletop. _Well she already knows your Batgirl_ …

"I don't know" Barbara mumbled to the table.

"Oh come on Babes, you were saying his name in your sleep, and not in a good way," Frankie chided.

"Ah, well he was… a guy I knew."

"Yeah I got that much already, come on girl spill it."

"Fine… Do you know where I where I was most of today."

"No"

"His name was Richard "Dick" Grayson, and today makes a year since he died…And his— _Our_ mentor died a few days ago… That night Joker attacked Gotham."

"Oh my God, I am so sorry Barbara. I can't believe you knew Nightwing. "

"So, Batman's funeral happens to fall around the anniversary of Dick's death. Right when I thought I was in a better place in my life… That bastard, The Joker, always gets the last laugh."

"But not this time." Frankie stated as she put her hand over Barbara's, "Look, you _are_ in much better place and Gotham is going to need Batgirl now more than ever."

"When Dick was taken by the Crime Syndicate, I tried everything to get to him," she said looking down at her bowl.

"But, something or someone needed always needed help. By the time I got there the Justice League had secured the area. His body was never found, but I still can't help to think what if I got there the day before, or what if the—my timing didn't always suck."

"Come on" Frankie exclaimed, "you can't play the what if game. You saved a lot of lives and whether your find is alive or not you all _you_ can do is keep moving forward babes."

"You're right Frankie." _If Dick was alive he would do the same._ "So about my algorithm"

"Oh you mean the one that went all Skynet tried to destroy you, Burnside, and anyone else" She said casually.

"Right" Barbara said rolling her eyes. "Are you set up yet? I think it's a good night to try our new team out."

"YES! I thought you would never ask!"

"Okay, be ready in 5!" Barbara said not before high-fiving Frankie and dashing to her closet for her gear.

4 minutes later Batgirl was standing behind Frankie's station. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be Batgirl"

Batgirl made her way to the window opened it and stepped out on the ledge.

"Wait, so what am I going to call you," Batgirl asked.

"Call me Oracle"


	2. Chapter 2

Almost a year earlier…

Nightwing was back in full swing in Gotham.

"I'm only here to drop Zsasz off at Arkham, then I'm going back to Chicago." He said with a slightly annoyed tone as he landed in front of Arkham Asylum.

The bat-family has been shattered. The last time most of them were together was the night Damian was killed. Even then they were on thin ice with Bruce lying yet again to them about what the Joker knew… what he might be capable of. But when Raya, Dick's red-head childhood friend turned 'complicated', was killed by the Joker he decided he had to take a break from Bruce, from Gotham. Gotham is a big city but so was the rest of the country. So he moved to Chicago, hoping to start a new with another red-head childhood friend, but ultimately he knew it was best she remained. After a few weeks in Chicago, things were not great. It's not easy being a vigilante in town that targets them. The setbacks began to pile up and he didn't just have doubts in his relationships but with his purpose as a costumed hero in a mask.

Barbara Gordon was back home in her garage calibrating her bat cycle "let's meet without masks. It's always better that way. Less pressure to live up to Bruce than Batman," she said through the com-link.

"For me you mean?"

"For everyone-" **SKREEETCH!**

"Agh!" Nightwing grabbed for his com to turn down the strange feedback.

**BOOM!** Large cloud of smoke appeared right at the entrance of Arkham. A caped woman appeared and immediately ripped the doors off the entrance to Arkham.

"Batgirl, if you hear me we have major situation at Arkham. Tell Batman to alert the league." He said as he dropped Zsasz to the ground. His heart began to race, adrenalin pumping in his veins. He's been Batman he's trained with the Justice League but taking down a someone with the powers of Superman was never an easy task.

*Static silence*

"Batgirl?" _Come on Babs tell me you can hear me and are calling the cavalry._

*static silence* Nothing, he finished hopping the wall to Arkham and made his way to the entrance.

"Behind you" someone whispered. Dick turned towards the noise.

"Batman?" *BAM* lights out.

Over the course for what seemed like forever Dick was de-masked in front the world, tortured, beaten, and strapped to a bomb. Batman, Catwoman, and Lex Luthor of all people finally came. But it was too late, it seemed the only way to stop a bomb from destroying the League and the surrounding area, was to stop Dick's heart.

He was effectively dead to everyone. The majority of the league knew he was strapped to a bomb, but what they didn't know and what no-one besides Catwoman, Luthor, and Batman knew was that Luthor was able to revive Grayson.

Batman, always being 10 steps ahead, had to hide Dick's resurrection, saving it for what would be bigger than some injustice league. He knew that there was an agency, Spyral, out there hunting the league and others already. Luckily, Batman had been able to keep most identities secure but for how long?

Sitting in the cave after the most grueling, bloody, destructive training sessions they would ever have, Dick had to get something off his chest.

"It can't be the same between us anymore."

"I know, Dick."

"Do you? You know I would follow you anywhere. But after this… It's over… I'm not following your crusade anymore."

With that Dick set out into the world, searching for a group called 'The Fist of Cain' a terrorist group Spyral were known to be after. It wasn't long after taking down 'fist' cell after cell that Dick gained the attention of Spyral, specifically Helena Bertinelli.

He was recruited. Several months of helping Spyral track down organs that could give them the powers of the justice league while reporting to Batman seemingly helped patch up their rocky relationship.

Almost now…

It finally happened, the Joker was still alive. Worse, Joker's new gas has turned half of Gotham into crazed Joker zombies.

Batman, Killer Croc, Red Hood, Penguin, Red Robin, Poison Ivy, Bluebird, Bane, Batgirl have luckily only been incapacitated by the Joker gas, Bruce put a vapor in the masks they all were wearing. But Batman, Dick Grayson Batman, is still unconscious on top of a dinosaur in the heart of Gotham without a mask. The same Dick Grayson that is supposed to be dead to the world let alone the 3 close family members lying within eyeshot.

Right before passing out in the hands of the Joker he remembered something, _Don't be seen. Don't be seen._ He still has his mission. _Don't be seen. Wake up. WAKE UP!_ Immediately Grayson, dressed in full Batman armor minus the cowl itself, jumped up. Taking in his surroundings the Joker gas seemed to dissipate. But the rest of the members of the Batfamily laid surrounded by what remained of Ivy's vine wall and the bodies of the crazed victims the Joker left in his wake. Dick stood over them looking for any signs of life.

 _I know Batman said the vapor should keep us safe but…_

He jumped down towards the group. Walking over to the nearest joker victim he reached down putting his fingers on their carotid artery.

 _No pulse… Damn it._ He took the gauntlet off to be sure. _Still no pulse._

Jason was the nearest family member. He reached down to check his pulse…

 _Faint but he'll be okay. Thank you Batman!_

Batgirl was the next closest. Crouching down towards her finally gave him a chance to actually look at her since he came back. His heart started beating just a little bit faster. For a moment he stopped and soaked in the way she looked for a moment. He reached down and placed his fingers on her carotid.

 _She's fine. But damn, she looks just as beautiful as ever._ He felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest, now. He was amazed that despite being almost a year, those feelings are still there. The kind like when his heart skips a beat when he looks at her. _God, how I miss seeing that long read hair blowing in the wind leading up into her cowl, those big bright eyes, her soft—snap out of Grayson! This isn't Sleeping Beauty!_

Suddenly Batman's voice crept into his head, _"You're hypnos isn't going to work on someone who knows you as well as the family does. Just in case you forgot your body, your movements, even your scent could blow your cover. You know how important your mission is so DON'T. BE. SEEN." Especially around a girl with a mind like Barbara's_ , Dick thought to himself.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Batman? Batgirl? Anyone?" A young woman with an English accent said over the communicator. "Come on. I have the antidote I'm in route to your location. Can anyone hear me!?"

 _Time to go._ Dick made his way out of the circle east towards his jet he 'borrowed' from Spyral. Stepping over Bluebird he looked down. _Later lady Nightwing._

"Ughhhhh." _What the -_

A groggy penguin reached up grabbing Dick by his boot.

"Ughh B-Batman is that you?"

**WHAP** Dick lands a sweeping kick to Penguin's face knocking him out cold.

 _Sorry Penguin I am not about to let you blow my cover after I flew 2000 miles to be Bruce's decoy._ Dick pulled out his grapple hook this time fired it to the nearest building before anyone else could wake up.

Before reaching the outskits of town Dick had to ditch the Batman gear before getting in range of the Spyral jet's cameras. By now Helena knew Dick was A.W.O.L. and went back to Gotham. Dick boarded the jet in his normal Spyral attire. He walked up the rear ramp and sat down in the pilot's chair. Flipping several switches the panel began lighting up bit by bit upon hitting the switch to start the engine that's when he heard it.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

"I am surprised you weren't waiting in the back up the ship Matron."

"37, this is Agent 8, you're already wearing my patience thin. You WILL maintain radio protocol, or I will find an assignment here that is far worse than what you're doing now. Now, why are you in Gotham. Over."

"Fine, Agent 8, this is 37 there was a gas attack in Gotham. I can't discuss more over comms. Over and out."

Both sides hang up Dick, punches in the coordinates back to St. Hadrians while Helena, in her new office as the head of Spyral, leans back in her chair and sighs rubbing her temples.

"Dick Grayson, you are an idiot." Agent 1, a middle eastern man mutters. Helena turns her chair to face towards him.

"We know someone was sending encrypted radio transmissions outside of this school before Minos. Grayson returning to Gotham makes it easy to believe he's still working for the Batman."

"His connections?" Agent 1 asked.

"Before he was killed he worked alongside Batman for a short time. He was the leader of a group of young heroes called the Titans, which were believed to work underneath the Justice League."

"Batman being a leader of the Justice League."

"Correct Agent 1, your mission is to investigate 37. I want to know more about his connections to Gotham. Every hero has a story, it's time we found out more about his."


	3. Chapter 3

Back at Spyral HQ Agent 37 was debriefed by Helena about why he was in Gotham. The gas Joker used is a similar strain used by the Fist of Cain in a gas attack on another major city months earlier. How he found this out without being in contact with someone like Batman, was not so clear.

Helena was already suspicious that Dick has never really taken off his mask so-to-speak, but now without knowing how he received this information, her suspicion has hit a peak.

"37!" Whenever someone called him by this name, it seemed to make him cringe more and more. That was not his name. He hated lying to so many people.

"As much as we appreciate this finding, it doesn't change the fact that you continuously break protocol. You show a lack of respect for those in authority and you must face the consequences." The look on her face was all business. It had taken months to even come close to gaining just a speck of trust from her. All that work though appears to have gone down the drain.

"Oh come on, Helena—"

"Again!" *Slams fist on the desk* "37!" Helena was clearly enraged by his continuous reluctance to assimilation.

She recomposed herself and sat back down in her chair.

"Agent 37, Richard Grayson, your punishment will be severe."

He remained silent, a slight look of defeat in his eyes.

"Your punishment is 30 days in solitary confinement."

"Wait, really?" He questioned. "The best spy agency in the world and the _most severe_ punishment you could think of was 30 days in time-out?"

"For you" she started "it will be. Take him away."

"Stop." She said, before he could even turn around. She stood up from her chair walked over to him and with a swift grasp to the back of his neck, she pulled his head close to her mouth and said into his ear, "and I know you won't even try to escape. Who would you run to now without Batman?"

Keeping a straight face he thought, _what the hell does that mean?_ Being in transit back from Gotham, he never had the chance to check the news reports. There were sparse reports that both the Batman _and_ Joker disappeared after the Joker's gas attack on Gotham.

Dick was escorted to a cell deep underneath the school that they used as headquarters. A guard or fellow agent opened the cell, allowing him to walk in.

Dick willingly walked into his cell. It was very… stereotypical. 4 walls, a crappy mattress, toilet and that was it. No light, nothing.

Hours went by, it seemed like days to him.

He sat on his mattress and tried to meditate. Whenever he felt like he may have been a un-win-able situation he remember what Batman taught him. "Think, don't react."

A few more hours went by and he felt it best to try to sleep. After a few days of boredom, the loneliness finally started to set in. He started thinking back to when he was in Chicago. Staying in touch with the ones he cared about was difficult enough given the distance. Chicago wasn't that bad at least they could still talk and laugh and care for each other.

Looking at his situation now though… He remembered just how real death can be. How it can not really hit you until you realize you will never really talk to them again. You really can't just call them up to see how there day was, or ask them for advice.

 _Years earlier…_

"Barbara" The older man called to his daughter, "I need you to try to talk to this boy."

He points in the kid's direction.

"His parents… Well… You know… His parents are gone. He hasn't spoken since it happened and he must still be in shock." Jim Gordon had been working late as usual for someone with his dedication and as of that night he was the one to become personally responsible with bringing the killers of John and Mary Grayson to justice.

His 16 year old daughter, Barbara, had been waiting in his office doing her homework. She would stop by after getting out of her mixed martial arts lessons down the street from the station. This was also right after her ballet classes—being a workaholic was certainly in her blood. When it came to being some kind of social butterfly however, his younger teenage daughter looked at him somewhat puzzled.

"What do you expect me to say dad?" The younger red-haired girl was obviously confused. What could she do? Going up to some boy who just lost everything and expect to make him feel better with a few words?

They had actually met about a few months prior; Bruce Wayne had brought the Grayson and Gordon family out for dinner following the Graysons' last trip to Gotham. It was a simple dinner at the most extravagant restaurant in Gotham. Dick certainly felt out of place. Growing up in the circus didn't afford him many opportunities for fine dining. Barbara was in the same boat, being out of place. The only difference was how damn cocky he was, being a flying Grayson, a showman. Not even before the appetizer had been served had she been so annoyed or disgusted. _How could anyone be that into themselves?_ She thought.

But by the end she found a much sweeter side to him. He was kind and genuinely interested in learning more about the commissioner's daughter.

She looked over at the boy; he was wearing a GCPD jacket over some kind of spandex suit. But, how did he lose his parents?

"Dad—"

"Barbara-"

He put his hand on his daughter's shoulder and looked her right in her eye.

"Look, I don't expect you to know what to say. I thought I did…" And he did. It didn't seem like that long ago when he was trying to comfort another boy who had just lost his whole world.

"Sometimes Barbara you don't need to say anything. Sometimes just being around them, being there for them is enough."

She looked over at him again, took a deep breath and walked over to the row of chairs he was sitting on.

She was about to take a seat, directly next to him. Before this moment her father recalled not even seeing him cry. _"It must be shock"_ she recalled her father saying.

The moment of losing his parents had been so shocking, he didn't know how to feel.

It really didn't set in until he sat on that lonely row of chairs in the GCPD building for a few minutes.

 _Is this really it?_ He thought.

 _Mom?... Dad?... Please. I still need you. You can't be gone yet._ That was the moment he lost it. That was when he tilted his head back covering his face with his hands, trying to keep it together, but sobbing uncontrollably into his hands.

 _Oh my God._ Barbara thought. _Fu—Okay just sit next to him. That has to make him feel less alone._

He felt a slight shift in his seat signaling to him someone had sat down next to him.

 _Great!_ He thought to himself.

 _Oh my God She's—Pull it together don't let her see you cry._

…

"It's okay you know," she barely spoke above a whisper trying not to make eye contact yet.

He was sniffling trying to pull himself together, "What" he asked incredulously.

"To cry," she stated slightly louder this time. Barbara began to notice the busy police station around them. All these people around them running around doing things…

"No offense but I really would just like to be left alone right now." She could the frustration in his voice.

"Okay, here" She stood up extending her hand to him, "I know the best place."

He looked up at her, eyes on the verge of tears again. But he took what little energy he had left and took her hand. Then Barbara pulled him out of his chair taking him by the hand up to the top of the GCPD building. She pushed opened the metal door to the roof and was immediately hit by the chill of the winter night. She immediately regretted not bringing her jacket but was not about to leave him alone.

"Here," she said "this is called the bat signal, my dad showed me this once told me they use it to call Batman helps catch the bad guys." She reached under it and flipped the switch turning the bright spot-light on towards the night's sky. He looked up towards the signal in the cloudy dark sky and took in a deep sigh. As nice as the thought was it didn't change anything. The deep cold nothing could change the fact that they were gone. His parents were gone. He was alone. He felt numb to everything.

She could feel him slipping away to his own thoughts and feelings of loss and loneliness. She pulled him over to an old A.C. unit, taking a seat next to him.

She thought she should say something like, _"I'm not going to pretend I know how it feels to lose everything. I don't,"_ but, decided against it.

With that the two sat in silence on the cold rooftop just listening to the sound of the cars driving down the street below and the occasional siren.

But, after a long while of the frigid roof Dick noticed her start to shiver. He started to feel his own face running cold. He immediately went to take off his jacket and wrap it around her shoulders.

"I'm- I'm s-sorry." She stammered.

"How about we go back inside, it's pretty cold out. "

She nodded and they both made their way back down to her father's office. They reached the seats they were at before and they could see her father shaking hands with another well dressed man in suit. Her father looked towards her.

"I better go" she said, before going to rush off.

He grabbed her hand lightly before she could rush off, turning her back towards him.

"Thank you." He said softly looking deep into her eyes.

Another moment flashed in his mind, it was a few weeks before he left Gotham the first time.

It was their senior year in high school. Barbara was still recovering in the chair; Dick was working overtime with the Titans. Both were still unsure of what the future held for them. By this point the whole school knew how close they were, it was assumed to everyone but themselves that they would go to prom together.

By the time the time finally arrived Barbara had no official suitors. Dick was far too busy with his Titans work to ask anyone in particular. Babs had a dress just-in-case but the night of the dance came around and she was sitting at home, alone. At this point she decided to dive head first in her project.

"Hi Daddy" she said into her phone.

"Hey sweetie." Her father knew what day it was. Secretly he was hoping she wouldn't answer because she was too busy getting ready.

"Checking up on me?" She asked, still typing away on her computer.

"Not really, I just wanted to see if you wanted to go to this thing with me next week—"

"Come on dad"

"What?"

"…"

"Look, Barb-"

"Dad" she sighed "its fine. I have plenty of more important things to do anyways. I'm getting ready for college."

**Knock** **Knock** **Knock**

"That's great Barb, but don't you-"

**Knock** **Knock** **Knock**

"Sorry Dad. Sounds like someone is at the door…" There was a long silence between them both.

"I should go. I love you Dad."

"Love you too sweetie."

**Knock** …**Knock**

She ended the call, slid the phone in her pocket and made her way to the door.

She looked through the peephole saw someone in a suit sitting on her porch. She removed the deadbolt and opened the door.

"Babs?!" The young man immediately stood up, obviously hiding the flowers behind his back when he turned around.

"Dick?"

"I know, my timing is probably awful…"

"…But would you… Um… Go to prom with me—" He stuck the flowers out to her.

"—Really?" she asked. Taking the flowers from him.

"Why not? Babs, you're my best friend." He said smiling so widely. That was when she felt something move in her heart. _It's true_ she thought.

"Dick, I'd love to but… Um…" She looked down at her lifeless legs.

 _I can't do this, how can I go to a dance like this_

A huge pool of regret forming in her stomach.

"Alright! Do you have a dress? I mean you can wear anything but I think we're supposed to match."

"DICK!" She exclaimed, "It's not that, its…"

He knelt down to her eye level, "Babs, you are the bravest girl I have ever met. You have never let anything stop you from doing what you wanted."

"So, Barbara FREAKING-batgirl-GORDON, do you want to do this thing or what?"

 _Great choice Gordon_ she thought to herself. They had so much fun. Dancing was a little awkward for them at first but they quickly got past that and it felt as if there was no one else in the entire world let alone the room. They weren't exactly nominated for prom king and queen but by the end of the night it was pretty clear who the cutest couple in the room was. They had stopped and took pictures laughing, joking, until she kissed him right on his cheek making him turn as red as her hair.

He felt a little awkward after that, _go for it Grayson. Just do it, you jump off rooftops at night, and you can surely risk your relationship with your best friend for one simple thing… That was far from simple._

The car ride back was awkwardly quite, some light flirting here and there on both ends.

 _Do I have to make the first move here?_ Barbara thought un-assuredly.

They pulled up to her place, "Looks like my dad is home, I'm sure he'll be surprised" she blushed.

Ever the gentleman, he helped her out of his car walking with her to her front door.

They waited there for what seemed like forever.

"So…" he said.

"So…" she said.

She broke silence first, "I had a really good time tonight." She smiled "Thank you."

He didn't say anything. He leaned in until he was eye to eye with her, placed his hand on the sides of her face and—

"THIRTY-SEVEN!"

His face was warm but was immediately yanked back to reality.

"Time's up" the guard said.

"Are you ready to come back to us Grayson?" Helena asked behind the door.

"Yeah… I realize what's most important to me now." He said groggily.

"Spyral" he said.


	4. Chapter 4

"I can't believe my dad is actually Batman. Phhh more like Robocop" Batgirl said perched atop a roof in the narrows.

"I vote for RoboBat" Frankie said into the comm-link.

Batgirl sighed into the comm and sat down on the ledge with her legs dangling over the edge. It was an above average night in Gotham, bitter cold but completely clear skies. Despite being like hell most of the time, the nights it was clear, gave you a most breathtaking views of the city.

"What the heck am I going to do Frankie? I mean, why wouldn't he just let someone else do it?"

"Says the vigilante" Frankie mused.

"You're not helping."

"Na uh eh. Actually before you found out there would be a new sheriff in town you've caught 200% _more_ criminals in the past month than you did the month before."

"I stand corrected."

"The original Batman really had you all under his thumb. I can't believe he actually tracked your performance."

"Being hooked into the Bat computer, if you are really good I'm sure you'll find out much more than that."

"Give it a few days, I'm reading this Grayson guys' bio right now. Sure is a long one."

"Stop!"

"Come-on Babes if you want me to actually help you I should know these things."

"You don't need to know that history…" Batgirl pulled out her wrist computer and typed in a series of commands quickly.

Immediately Frankie's screen went dark.

"Barbara?"

*Silence*

"Barbara Gordon?"

Her screen was brought back up on a new page. This one had the bio of a local drug lord who had recently switched to importing weapons.

"Are you done Frankie?"

"Sure… Head four blocks north and two blocks west. You're going to the docks. Our guy is there."

"Thanks O"

A few minutes later Batgirl arrived on a roof overlooking an old Gotham dock. This particular dock was on the bad— worse side of Gotham. This one folded up years ago and has been a hub for criminal activity since. The cops in the area aren't nearly stupid enough to lock this down. Drugs and weapons have poured through this gap in the coverage for years. There was a time when a few brash cops took out the trash out for what seemed like for good, but for these sorts of crimes it has always been "cut off the head of the snake and two more take its place." Fights and missions like these really made Batgirl question whether or not jumping off rooftops and punching criminals in the face is the way to go.

"Alright so you have 6 bad guys in the loading area, out of your immediate sight. There is one inept patrol, and 2 guarding the entrance. You really shouldn't have a problem taking these guys out quietly."

"Thanks Frankie, are you uploading their— "

"Already done. I have added their cell phone locators to the map now"

"Alright going in"

Batgirl swooped down to the rooftop nearest the entrance guards. From there she sprung into action. Jumping down and drop kicking one guard knocking him out cold and before the other could even get a hand on his weapon, she delivered an epic round house to his face. She crouched down surveying the area for any other guards.

"Nice kick, the patrol should reach you in about 20 seconds."

Batgirl quickly zip tied the bad guys hands and feet together.

All the sudden she heard it… Sounds like nails on concrete…

"Crap." Batgirl's eyes went wide.

*WOOF* *WOOF* *WOOF*

Freaking dogs! Unfortunately for bats, dogs don't really have cell phones making them much more difficult to track. However, if you aren't seemingly distracted and sloppy they are fairly easy to manage.

"THERE'S A BAT OVER HERE!" The inept guard yelled.

One unnecessarily long fight later Batgirl certainly took a beating. She reached down to pull the bad guys' arms around his back to tie them up.

"Arghhhh," she exclaimed immediately clutching her right shoulder from a bad slam through one of the dense wooden crates. Luckily for her she still had a hard left hook and instilled it thoroughly on the perp's face.

"ughmmm," clutching at her lower back now. This pain was brought to her by one brave soul that took a two by four to it. Luckily she rolled under a row of shelves sprung up (through the immense pain) launching herself and some well placed batarangs to their face. One dropkick later and it was naptime for this one.

Batgirl went around tying each one thoroughly, not taking any more chances. She may have been distracted and sloppy but these guys certainly seemed at least above average crooks.

After that she went to work looking for whatever it was these guys were bringing in. She pried open one of the crates to find nothing but bricks and bricks of drugs.

 _Guys like these are scum_ – she thought to herself. Thinking about the lives that are damaged from this crap she could only hope these guys would be gone for a while. She was just about to leave when she spotted it out of the corner of her eye. It was new and had a fancy electronic lock on the case. Whatever this one was it had 'special' written all over it.

Batgirl pulled out her electronic hacking device typed in several commands and let it do its thing. A few beeps later and -

"Open sesame," she stated.

"What do we have here Oracle?"

"Running the trace through the computer now"

…

"Um it says it's not found…

Did I do that right?"

"Try it again"

"Ugh" one of the restrained is starting to come to.

"Still not found"

"What the— did you run it through the other bat computer?"

"Trying that now… It's going to take a minute."

"In the mean time- HEY!" *Smacks the crook in the face.* "I'm going to ask nicely, what is this stuff, where did you get it from?"

"Do you think I am afraid of you? Baby-bat?" the grizzly man said in a heavy eastern European accent.

*Wham* *wham* a few quick fists to the face is leaving him spitting blood.

"Ha ha. Really? No one here is afraid of you we know your group doesn't kill. Even then, we are not afraid of death."

 _"You can't just keep beating these people senseless Batman. They were already restrained what you did was unnecessary."_

Robin's voice echoed in her mind. It was from one of their first missions out as a team. Robin was clearly not a fan of seemingly torturing criminals. More and more Robin would express his disdain for Batman's torture tactics. Batgirl was conflicted; on the one hand it made getting information much quicker. On the other hand, some of them really didn't deserve what happened to them. It was almost sad sometimes these people were just trying to make ends meet any way they could. Other times though…

She took his hand and started to twist it in a very unnatural way… Too much torque and it would snap like a twig. But she had a good idea how much that would take and most people couldn't stand getting close to that point. But, this one didn't make a sound.

"Batgirl!" Oracle said into her communicator.

But Barbara was in the zone. There was a part of her that was tired of scum like this not taking her seriously. These sorts of things happened frequently when she started. Until, word got around that she wasn't to be messed with. That though put a whole different target on her chest however…

"Batgirl! Stop! What are you doing?" Oracle pleaded.

Slowly she released his hand.

"I knew you wouldn't do it. You can't stop us. The day of reckoning is coming for you all," he said eerily.

Batgirl turned towards him again, *BAM* swiftly she put a big boot mark right across his face knocking him back down unconscious.

"Yeah, yeah, it always is. Oracle do you have something?"

"Sort of… it is apparently alien."

"What, Where?"

"Not from around here but there are traces of Kryptonite."

Batgirl could hear the sirens in the distance now. The GCPD should handle it from here. She reached for her grapple gun and fired it towards the sky and flew off.

"Over the course of the missions since we started this thing together Grayson," Helena started plainly, "every one you have been on there have been spies monitoring our activities. Those spies have been winding up dead. Every one with blunt force trauma with a weapon very similar to your escrima sticks you carry with you on all of your missions."

Helena leaned back in her new office chair. The one she inherited from their insane former boss, old 'what's his name.'

"Upon discovering this during your last mission out I came to the conclusion that the prime candidate was Agent 1, Tiger. He was one of the few that knew of each and every one of our missions."

"But someone is still dead?" Dick asked knowingly.

"Correct," Helena pressed a few commands on the keyboard in her desk and security footage on the TV's behind her appeared to show an incapacitated Agent 1, and Agent 37 crawling out the ventilation ducts from which he came. "According to the security camera's tiger was on the floor where you left him. When as you see an escrima stick striking him perfectly in the temple killing him instantly."

"So, if it's not Tiger… I am assuming since you're telling me all this"

"In other news, the Fist of Cain appears to be on the rise. They have shifted their stance to targeting and eliminating all meta-humans. They have appear to be behind an attack on a large group of civilian metas, whatever substance they used, when inhaled by metas it targets whatever controls their powers and kills it so they can no longer control their powers and end up consumed by them."

Behind her gruesome pictures of meta-humans destroyed by their powers appeared. One young boy appeared to be so small and frail his high metabolism appeared to eat him alive. Another with the powers to control fire… there was almost nothing left of him.

"Your mission is to get Agent 1 back. We can't afford to let another agency snatch him up. Then we shift our focus back on this would be assassin."


	5. Chapter 5

"Where's agent 1?"

"Uh not exactly where we left him… I mean he is supposed to be a pretty good spy from what I hear." He said into his radio. Ever since Agent 37 received word that someone has been killing other spies on his missions' things have been a bit tense. Agent 1 is now rogue and probably on the hunt for revenge after being left to be captured by a private security force on the last mission because of 37 was ordered to lose him.

"Great, so he's probably gone rogue and isn't too happy about what you did to him."

"Wait… Wha-"

"Back to base 37, I'll expect a full debrief when you return. Matron out."

"We've received intel that a small cell of the Fist of Cain is operating around Gotham. Intellegence suggests that they are planning a strike on one or more of the colleges just outside of Gotham"

Dick had just returned from a botched mission where he had to sabotage his (former) partner and found our someone has been following him and killing other spies on _his_ missions. Now he's standing in Matron's, formerly Mr. Minos's, office being briefed by his partner turned boss. The partner who kissed him on one of their last missions together, then denied it ever happened—It's a long story. That was the last he ever heard from Batman, from Gotham, from home.

 _No, not Gotham_ he thought to himself.

"Hey! Are you hearing me 37? We're going back to Gotham, together. This mission is too important to have anything go wrong. We have to find out what they are doing."

"Alright BG so you know the mission right?"

Batgirl peered into the warehouse windows. A lot was going on here. If, by a lot, you mean a bunch of suspected terrorists are moving a lot of guns and weapons into trucks to be shipped out.

"Yes, come in through the roof send a bunch of bad-guys twice my size to the hospital then to jail"

Little did she know she wasn't the only one trying to figure out who was behind all of this.

"Good, now let's go to work"

"Grayson, have you reached the office yet?" Matron said into his earpiece.

Agent 37 had infiltrated the Fist of Cain's warehouse. He was just trying to fit in as just another piece of muscle loading guns and weapons into trucks to be shipped out to all parts of Gotham.

"Hugh!"

He lifted anther large crate to the guy on the back of the truck and made his way back to storage area. But, not before taking a little detour to the main office.

"Alright O cut the power."

Immediately the power in the entire area surrounding the docks went out making it pitch black inside the warehouse. The only light was from the truck lights and the city's glow through the windows.

Dick immediately became aware of what was happening here. But, who was it?

It couldn't be Batman, no-one has he's gone. Hood? No way.

Batwoman didn't operate in this area and Selina was too busy running Gotham's underground.

That only left Tim and…

 _Please let it don't be_ _ **her**_ _, he thought to himself._

"Agh!" That had to be the sound of a thug getting a large dose of justice.

" Look out boys! We got a bat! Get your night-vision out!" One of the lackeys said.

 _Whoever it is they can handle it._ He thought.

"37. You're girlfriend is here. You need to hurry and get to the intel or I'm going to intervene."

 _Damn it Helena, don't._ He didn't want to reply out loud he knew Babs was great at taking down criminals who so much as whispered to each other.

"No! No-"

Another bad-guy tied up and ready for GCPD pickup.

"Alright BG, 7 bad guys down… I am picking up one heat signature in the office. Ready to make this guy talk?"

"Ready to make them squeal"

Grayson finally made his way to the office and started transferring all the files the group had on the weapon.

"Grayson do you here me? You have another heat signature coming your way it has to be-"

"Matron?" He whispered.

He would rather risk it. At this point his cover was at risk of being blown and this would be assassin may even be in the same room. The only person they could take out would be…

"Batgirl"

BOOM!

"Don't move!" And there he was standing in the same room as _her._ Finally, he spent a long time thinking about what he would say to her at this moment.

But, his back was toward her and facing the window. He still had his duty to Batman and the mission. He couldn't just _let_ his cover get blown.

"Who are you?! Turn around or get ready to have a very serious head injury!"

Batgirl had her bolas in one hand and her battarangs in the other. She was ready to strike. But Dick didn't need to see that to know she was ready.

"You look great!"

"Really?... You think so?"

"Of Course! You're going to be irresistible!"

"Thanks Frankie."

"Yeah, I mean don't tell me you don't realize all of that 'Bat' training didn't pay off"

"You haven't seen Catwoman in person," She muttered "I do look amazing!"

She was in the most beautiful tight red dress. But this wasn't really Barbara Gordon wearing it- it was Batgirl. And Batgirl had a mission. Go on a Date with a young man who is well connected in Wayne Enterprise and get her hands on the tech she needs.

"So… Are you sure you want to keep doing this?" Frankie asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

To say this date was going great was an understatement. The guy was a friend she had known for a very long time. Dark hair, beautiful eyes, and a great body. From the outside looking in it looked so natural for both of these young people in one of the most exclusive restaurants in Gotham. It started simple enough catching up on the past and talking about the future. Laughing, smiling, casual touches. On the inside to say she had butterflies was an understatement.

But Dick Grayson was at the bar overlooking the happy couple. Hypnos in full effect as an older blonde man drinking his drink in peace. He couldn't just leave Gotham and not check up on her. But the sick feeling that was boiling up in his stomach was making him regret his choice. He should have been happy for her. He should have been happy she was happy. But he wasn't at that table, so he couldn't truly be happy.

He quickly tilted his head back and finished the rest of his glass and slid a very large bill across the table for the bartender. He took his suit jacket off the back of his chair put it on his shoulders and made his way for the door.

"I feel the same way!"

He tuned out the entire restaurant to here this. Before he left he took one last look towards the couple at the table to see them kissing. They had to have been together for months.

 _Screw it. It's fine. She's happy._

With that thought he left. He had been off Spyral's radar for since their first meeting a few days earlier allowed for it.

Thanks to everyone for reading so far. I know it's been a long time between updates but I really want to finish this for ones that are still following and everyone who's given feedback so far. I am going to try to wrap this up in the next 2 chapters so stayed tuned!


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